CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All it took for the Carolina Panthers to land All-Pro defensive tackle and former Oklahoma star Gerald McCoy was a one-year deal worth up to $10.25 million — and a vegan lunch with some future teammates.
When some of Carolina's core players heard general manager Marty Hurney was considering signing the free agent defensive tackle, they organized a lunch at a local vegan restaurant during McCoy's visit to Charlotte last week knowing the 31-year-old McCoy had given up eating meat five months ago.
Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, Kawann Short, Shaq Thompson, Trai Turner and Christian McCaffrey all attended the lunch, hoping to convince their former division rival to sign with Carolina rather than the Baltimore Ravens or Cleveland Browns, the other two teams who were courting the six-time Pro Bowler.